Chinese navy vessel visits Vietnam
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E-mail Xinhua, April 23, 2012
Chinese training vessel "Zhenghe" arrived at Vietnam's Saigon Port Monday, starting its three-day visit to the country.
At about 9:30 a.m. local time, the training vessel, carrying a total of 308 sailors, including 110 students from the Dalian Naval Academy, slowly entered Saigon Port in southern Ho Chi Minh City, some 1,130 km south of capital Hanoi.
The vessel was warmly received by Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Kong Xuanyou, representatives of overseas Chinese and representatives from the Vietnamese military.
After the welcoming ceremony, the "Zhenghe" crew invited overseas Chinese on board for a visit.
The commander, Liao Shining, deputy chief of staff of the PLA navy, told Xinhua that the main task of this voyage is to strengthen the students' physical and mental strength through the ocean-going internship training, develop friendship between Chinese people and people of the world, as well as Chinese navy and the world's navies.
Zhen Zhongxing, military, naval and air attache of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam said the development of China-Vietnam military relation is an important part of bilateral relations, which is conducive to safeguarding the common interests between the two countries and peoples.
"In recent years, the two countries' military relations have made great progress under the guidance of the "16-word motto" and the "four-good spirit," with increased high-level exchanges and reinforced frontier and coast defense cooperation. Mechanisms of cooperation in disaster relief, humanitarian assistance and students training between China and Vietnam have also made continuous improvement," he added.
The ship is in Vietnam as the first leg of its global goodwill voyage, aiming at promoting friendship and exchanges with the rest of the world.
During the stay in Vietnam, visiting Chinese sailors were scheduled to play friendly sport games with students from a Vietnamese naval secondary specialized school. They will also visit historical and cultural relics in the city.
The "Zhenghe," named after a famed Chinese maritime explorer who sailed overseas about 600 years ago, started its five-month journey from the port city of Dalian in northeast China on April 16.
The vessel is scheduled to visit ports in 11 countries, including Vietnam, India, Italy, Spain, Canada, Ecuador and Indonesia, covering more than 30,000 nautical miles.
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